Compadre’s is always a highlight of our trips to Englewood in Florida. A true neighbourhood Mexican located in the historic heart of Englewood, it serves great food, huge portions, and a family-friendly atmosphere.

The Mexican is now open seven days a week, which was great news for us as we’ve previously had to rely on our memory of which days it’s closed, on one occasion getting this wrong and driving down only to find it closed.

As soon as you sit down at Compadre’s, you’re presented with a basket of piping hot tortilla chips and salsa in little bowls. The salsa is topped up time and again by a waiter walking around the restaurant with a huge jug of hot, fresh salsa.

One word of warning: as tempting as the tortilla chips are, it’s worth holding back ever so slightly to allow yourself a proper chance of finishing your mains!

Our favourite dishes are the fajitas and burritos. The former take up a hefty amount of table retail space; there’s a plate for the flour tortillas, a plate for rice and refried beans, a plate for cheese, salsa, and guacamole, and then a huge serving of meat or prawns with fried onion and pepper. Finishing the whole lot takes guts, literally, but it is possible!

As for the burritos, again the portion sizes are huge and take on a new dimension with the amount of cheese slathered on top of the rolled and stuffed tortilla.

The food at Compadre’s is very tasty indeed (a special mention goes out to the spicy prawns and the refried beans!) but it’s the fun of the experience that keeps us coming back every time we visit Englewood in Florida. Oh, and perhaps the salt-rimmed mugs of Margaritas weighing in at just a few dollars each as well!